Cal’s dream-come-true rematch with UCLA Thursday afternoon turned out to be a nightmare.

Five days after the Bruins escaped Pauley Pavilion with a controversial 81-80 victory — one that left the Golden Bears feeling a “rage” — UCLA quickly and emphatically extinguished Cal’s plan for revenge.

The top-seeded Bruins roared into the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament with a surprisingly easy 88-66 trouncing of the Bears.

This time, there were no disputed, last-minute non-calls, no magical — perhaps illegal — over-the-backboard shots.

And, after barely 2 minutes of the second half, there was no drama.

“I don’t think you’re going toout-emotion UCLA,” Cal coach Ben Braun said. “You’ve got to go out and perform. We did that in the last game.

“I don’t think they appreciated hearing two calls were the only reason they won a championship. That’s not right.”

If the game was further confirmation the Bruins (29-3) are a national championship threat, it left more questions for the Bears:

-Does Cal (16-15), with only one victory in its final seven games and two in its past 10 — warrant consideration for either the NIT or the new College Basketball Invitational?

-If not, has Braun coached his final game at Cal after 12 seasons?

-Will forward Ryan Anderson, already one of the most productive scorer-rebounders in Cal history, return for his junior season or consider early entry into the NBA draft?

None of those were answered immediately Thursday. This much was clear: All of Cal’s angry motivation dissolved in the face of UCLA’s crisp and aggressive execution.

“I’m surprised,” Anderson said. “We weren’t as pumped-up as I thought we were going to be. We’re all really disappointed. We all wanted to come out strong. The crowd was really into it. It was full of that other kind of blue and gold.”

Cal turned the ball over on 10 of its first 19 possessions, falling behind 16-4 after 61/2 minutes. The Bears answered with a 13-3 run to get within 19-17 when Lorenzo Mata-Real went to the line for two free throws.

The UCLA senior missed them both, but Russell Westbook rebounded the second and scored a putback that opened the floodgates. The Bruins outscored Cal 20-7 over the final 6:10 of the half for a 39-25 lead.

“We (dug) ourselves a hole in the first half with turnovers,” Braun noted. “We climbed back from that hole (Wednesday against Washington). It’s a little tougher — a lot tougher — to climb back against UCLA.”

In fact, the Bruins said they were aware of Cal’s weeklong pleas

for a rematch, but were unfazed.

“We had heard a little bit,” said point guard Darren Collison, who had five 3-pointers in a 19-point performance. “We were more concerned with how we were going to play. The last time we played Cal, we didn’t play very well.

“It was more about us.”

All-America freshman center Kevin Love, who scored just two points in the first half, drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half, ratcheting the lead to 48-29. The margin reached 32 points late in the game.

Anderson, who has not made a decision about his future, scored 15 points, giving him 660 for the year — already the second-best season in Cal history. Patrick Christopher added 12 points, and senior center DeVon Hardin had 10.

But point guard Jerome Randle, who has played well in recent games, had more turnovers (six) than points (four) or assists (three).

If the Bears’ offensive struggles were a surprise, their shortcomings on defense have become old news.

“That’s been our story the entire year, defensively,” Anderson said.

Braun, whose future has been the subject of speculation with the Bears failing to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five seasons, said he hopes to hear Sunday evening from the NIT or CBI.